Time controlled system



Nov. 10, 1942. 1 LORENZ 2,301,784

TIME CONTROLLED SYS TEM Original Filed July 31, 1939 I I If I nsu a ran 46,

INVENTORY Richard L. Lomnz any.

Patented Nov. 10, 1942 UNlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE TIME CONTROLLED SYSTEM Original application July 31, 1939, Serial No. 287,518. Divided and this application December 9, 1940, Serial No. 369,185

2 Claims.

This invention relates to time controlled systems and in particular to a system wherein the operation of a plurality of secondary units is controlled by a master unit in circuit therewith.

This application is a division of copending application Serial No. 287,518 filed July 31, 1939, which discloses and claims a complete corrective secondary time system. The present application is directed to the master clock mechanism unit in such system and the main object of the invention is to provide an improved contact mechanism for such master unit.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is an elevation of the master clock showing in detail the contacts actuated thereby; and

Figure 2 is a detailed perspective view of the actuating apparatus for the contacts controlling the current reversing and rapid impulsing relays of the time system.

Referring to the drawing, reference numerals I50 and I5! represent the front and rear plates of the master clock which comprises a pendulum controlled movement of one beat per second of the usual construction. An escapement wheel I52 is suitably positioned between the plates and a verge I53 is provided to cooperate with it, the verge being mounted on shaft I54 with which the pendulum is associated. Also, rigidly afiixed to verge shaft I54 is an arm l55 having at one end sulation block I42 and cooperates with a second contact member I58 which is similarly associated with a conducting member I60 also anchored in insulation block I42. Contacts 32 are carried by contact members I51 and I58, the former being biased toward the latter so that at each time that the pendulum makes a complete swing, that is every two seconds, the contacts 32 will be made.

A set screw I55 through the hub attached to arm I55 permits relative setting of the arm to the contacts 32, so these may be made at a predetermined point of the pendulums arc of swing and also that contacts 32 may be fixed in a definite, though selective, time of duration. Cooperating with the above feature is a plate I59, pivotally clamped by screw I42 to the plate I5I, said plate I59 carrying insulation block I42 with its attached contact members I59, I60, I51, I58. Plate I59 has an elongated slot at its lower extremity which extends in a lateral plane in re- 'spect to its pivot point at I42. The purpose of this slot is to permit angular movement of plate I59 about pivot I42 so same may be co-ordihated to the setting of arm I55 about shaft 154, thereby effecting an adjustment to contacts 32 to determine the time and duration of make and break relative to the swing of the pendulum.

A cam I6I of suitable insulating material is associated with the escapement wheel I52, Members I62 and I63 are resiliently mounted on conducting members I65 and I66 which in turn are mounted on insulation block I40. It will be noted that member I62 is somewhat shorter than member I63 and that it is also provided with an arm I 64 which extends backwardly in overlapping relationship to member I63, the members I64 and I63 being provided with contacts 33. As the cam rotates in the clockwise direction, member I62 will 'drop'ofi" the face of the cam a little less than two seconds before member I63 will drop, thereby causing contact 33 to be made.

The escapement wheel I52 is driven by wheel I10 which in turn is driven by wheel I1I which is mounted on shaft I48. Shaft I48 otates once an hour and the gear ratio between it and the escapement wheel is such that the escapement wheel rotates once every minute. A disk I12, associated with the Wheel I1I on shaft I48, likewise makes one revolution per hour. Pin I13 is carried on disk I12 on which pin is journaled an arm I14, the arm having its outer end turned up as at I15 so that one portion of the turned up end presents a cylindrical surface with respect to shaft I43. A pin I16 is positioned on disk I12 and another pin I11 is positioned on arm I14, a coil spring I18 having either end thereof associated with these pins so that the arm I14 is tensioned in the counterclockwise direction, one end of the arm abutting against the hub I49 of disk I 12 as shown in the figures so that normally the position of the arm is such that the outer end I15 is approximately coincident with the edge of the disk I12.

A plate I19 is mounted on plate I 59 and a member I is associated with the plate by means of pillars I8I and I82. Shafts I83, I84 and I85 are journaled in plates I19 and I89, lever I86 being affixed to shaft I83, lever I81 being aflixed to shaft I84 and lever I88 being affixed to shaft I85. A pin I89 formed of insulating material is mounted on one end of lever I86 and similar pins I90 and I9I are positioned on lever I81, and a similar pin I92 on lever I88. Resilient contact members I93, I94, I95 and I96 rest on pin I89, I90, I92 and I9I, respectively, and urge levers I85, I87 and IE8 in the clockwise direction so that the opposite ends thereof will extend out over disk I12 and into the path of turned up end I15 of arm I'M. As the disk rotates in the clock- Wise direction the turned up end will contact all three of the levers simultaneously and displace them to an equal extent in the counterclockwise direction, but lever I86 is of such a Length that as the member reaches a position corresponding to the position of the minute hand at fifty-two minutes and thirty seconds after the hour, lever I86 will become disengaged from member I15 permitting the resilient member I93 to drop down and contact the resilient member I84 thereby making the contacts 49 at this time. When member IlS shall further rotate sliding along the levers, the edges of which are curved so that no further displacement of the levers will occur, to a position corresponding to the position of the m nute hand at fifty-nine minutes and twelve seconds after thehour, lever I88 will. become disengaged from the member I'I5 permitting the re silient member I95 to drop down into contact with resilient member I96, thereby making the contacts 69. Thirty-six seconds later the arm I81 will become disengaged from member I15, allowing displacement of this lever in a clockwise direction by resilient members I94 and I95, ther by causing contacts 49 and S9 to be broken.

Resilient members I93 to I35 are associated with conducting members I44 to I41, respectively, which are anchored in insulating block I43.

The pivotal mounting of arm I'M on disk H2 permits the arm to be rotated in a clockwise direction with respect to the disk in opposition to the tension of spring I'IS. This permits the disk I12 to be rotated in the counterclockwise direction which is occasionally necessary in setting the master clock. During this counterclockwise rotation of the disk it will be seen that the member H5 will contact the ends of levers I86 to I83 and be rotated with respect to the disk until the radial distance between member H5 and shaft I58 has been reduced to an extent that the arm may trip over the ends of each of the levers in succession without preventing the counterclockwise rotation of the disk.

I claim:

1. Contact mechanism comprising two pairs of resiliently mounted cooperating contacts, time actuating member pivotally associated with said rotatable member, stop means to limit the rotation of said arm actuating member with respect to said rotatable member in a direction opposite to the normal direction of rotation of said rotatable member, resilient means to urge said arm actuating member into engagement with said stop means, said arm actuating member being adapted, during the normal rotation of said rotatable member, to engage and displace in opposition to said resiliently mounted contacts said contact actuating arms and to successively release said arms thereby permitting said arms and said resiliently mounted contacts to return to normal position, said contacts normally being biased to the open position, the first arm to be released being adapted to permit one contact member to engage its cooperating contact after said cooperating contact and the corresponding cooperating contact of the second pair of contacts have been displaced by the third arm to be released, the second arm to be released being adapted to permit a second contact member to engage said second cooperating contact member, and the third arm to be released being adapted to permit both of said cooperating contact members to return to their normal positions thereby breaking both pairs of contacts simultaneously after they have been successively made, said arm actuating member upon rotation of said rotatable member in a reverse direction being adapted to be displaced by and to slip over the ends of said arms by virtue of the pivotal association thereof with respect to said rotatable member.

2. In a control apparatus for a time controlled system, timing mechanism, a rotatable member driven thereby, two pairs of cooperating contacts, three pivotally mounted contact operating arms of different lengths adjacent said member, one of said arms adapted to control one contact of each pair and the other two arms adapted to control the other contact of each pair, respectively, an arm actuating member pivotally mounted on said rotatable member and normally in position to actuate said arms in predetermined sequence during rotation of said rotatable memher in one direction, and resilient means for holding said arm actuating member in said normal position and arranged to yield without actuating said contact actuating arms during rotation of said rotatable member in the opposite direction.

RICHARD L. LORENZ. 

